According to UPI editor at large, Arnaud de Borchgrave, Georgia miscalculated in its attack on South Ossetia — and bad. “NATO guarantees that an attack against one member country is an attack against all are no longer what they used to be. Had Georgia been inside NATO, a number of European countries would no longer be willing to consider it an attack against their own soil,” writes de Borchgrave.

In other words, a lot of people in Europe see the insanity of going up against Russia with its nukes only minutes away from Brussels, Paris, Berlin, etc. Georgia, with its tie-eating leader and deranged ethnic nationalism, simply was not worth it.

For Russia, the geopolitical stars were in perfect alignment. The United States was badly overstretched and had no plausible way to talk tough without coming across as empty rhetoric. American resources have been drained by the Iraq and Afghan wars, and the war on terror. As Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov put it, Washington must now choose between its “pet project” Georgia and a partnership with Moscow.

Not likely if the neocons, under John McCain, reign supreme come November. Of course, Obama and crew are just as anti-Russian as the neocons, some would say — with the participation of Zbigniew Brzezinski — even more so. Chances are the U.S. will push its “pet project” to the limit, no matter the guy sitting in the White House. It remains to be seen if this game includes nuclear war.

Georgia also had a special relationship with Israel that was mostly under the radar. Georgian Defense Minister Davit Kezerashvili is a former Israeli who moved things along by facilitating Israeli arms sales with U.S. aid. “We are now in a fight against the great Russia,” he was quoted as saying, “and our hope is to receive assistance from the White House because Georgia cannot survive on its own.”

No telling what kind of drugs Kezerashvili is on. Did he really expect the U.S. to come to the rescue, kill Russians, and possibly kick off a thermonuclear war? Neocons may talk the talk but are short of the target when it comes to taking decisive action. No doubt somebody in the Pentagon is standing on the brakes — for the moment.

It seems the Israelis had ulterior motives and these were dashed when America did not send in the calvary. “In a secret agreement between Israel and Georgia, two military airfields in southern Georgia had been earmarked for the use of Israeli fighter-bombers in the event of pre-emptive attacks against Iranian nuclear installations. This would sharply reduce the distance Israeli fighter-bombers would have to fly to hit targets in Iran. And to reach Georgian airstrips, the Israeli air force would fly over Turkey,” explains Arnaud de Borchgrave.

The attack ordered by Saakashvili against South Ossetia the night of Aug. 7 provided the Russians the pretext for Moscow to order Special Forces to raid these Israeli facilities where some Israeli drones were reported captured.

At a Moscow news conference, Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, Russia’s deputy chief of staff, said the extent of Israeli aid to Georgia included “eight types of military vehicles, explosives, landmines and special explosives for clearing minefields.” Estimated numbers of Israeli trainers attached to the Georgian army range from 100 to 1,000. There were also 110 U.S. military personnel on training assignments in Georgia. Last July 2,000 U.S. troops were flown in for “Immediate Response 2008,” a joint exercise with Georgian forces.

Georgia whined about Israel’s lack of response and the Georgians were told: “the address for that type of pressure is Washington.”

But, according to Arnaud de Borchgrave, the U.S. was not up to the job. The U.S. was “handicapped by a shortage of spy-in-the-sky satellite capability, already overextended by the Iraq and Afghan wars. Neither U.S. nor Georgian intelligence knew Russian forces were ready with an immediate and massive response to the Georgian attack Moscow knew was coming. Russian double agents ostensibly working for Georgia most probably egged on the military fantasies of the impetuous Saakashvili’s ‘surprise attack’ plans.”

It’s almost comical, Saakashvili’s naivety:

Saakashvili was convinced that by sending 2,000 of his soldiers to serve in Iraq (who were immediately flown home by the United States when Russia launched a massive counterattack into Georgia), he would be rewarded for his loyalty. He could not believe President Bush, a personal friend, would leave him in the lurch. Georgia, as Saakashvili saw his country’s role, was the “Israel of the Caucasus.”

Right. And another tie is on the menu, Mikheil. Saakashvili is too deluded to realize the U.S. only rewards its clients when absolutely necessary. Israel and the U.S. don’t care about Saakashvili and the Georgian people. For Israel, Georgia is just a pawn in the larger war against Iran and the Muslims, while the U.S. only cares about Georgia as it relates to the geopolitical boardgame against Russia, an arch enemy of the neocons, along with China and anybody else who might challenge their demented vision of worldwide hegemony.

Pity poor Saakashvili. One day he will likely experience the wrath of his own people, sort of the same way the people of Romania vented their wrath on Nicolae CeauĹźescu, who was taken out and shot.